PT Legislative Report 09/2023

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In October, the Georgia Secretary of State office is initiating a new program for license renewal called GOALS: Georgia Online Application Licensing System. This will be used for this cycle of license renewal.  They recommend that you use Google Chrome as your browser and it can be done on a mobile device, desktop, laptops, and/or tablets.  You cannot renew until this program goes live in October.

 

The CE Broker process for uploading continuing education documents is still up on the GA SOS website, but there are indications that continuing education will now go through the GOALS program as there is a statement saying that the license renewal will be paused if all continuing education documents are not uploaded.  I have written an email to the board to clarify this as is it not answered in the FAQ’s section. I will update GASOPT when I get a response.  For more info on the GOALS program, please visit the Secretary of State website at:

 

www.sos.ga.gov/goals

 

The only changes in rules and regulations as it relates to PT are around Physical Therapists educated in Foreign Non-CAPTE programs. There is a change in the language proficiency requirements. The board has also defined specific State Board referrals as it relates to convictions and arrests once disclosed at either initial licensing or at renewal.  If you would like more details in these areas, please go to the website at:

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https://sos.ga.gov/sites/default/files/2023-07/06-27-23_

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GOTA and AOTA Communication Liaison Update

September 28, 2023

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AOTA amended several Bylaws this past year. On the GOTA website, there are
links that refer to the past and present Bylaws from AOTA.

Just a few of the changes include:

1. the addition of the Chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee to the Board as a voting member. They previously had no voting rights.
2. Now the President-Elect has a vote. They did not in past years.
3. The deletion of the requirement of a minimal of 5 years of experience as an OT or OTA at the time of nomination for an AOTA office.
4. “The Commission on Education” changed the name to “Education Commission” and moved from being housed under the Representative Assembly to the Standing Advisory Committee of Board. This will expand
their access and involvement throughout AOTA.
5. The Ethics Commission was also moved from the Representative Assembly to the Standing Advisory Committee of Board to expand involvement throughout AOTA.

 

OTs in the state of Georgia are still allowed to provide services via telehealth during the public health emergency ( PHE) under the Georgia Telehealth Act. Please note, it is still temporary under the public health emergency (PHE), as
compared to other services billing rights that are permanent.

Please refer to the Georgia Occupational Therapy Association (GOTA) website for
more details.

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Ashley Adams, OTD